To many people, 50 minutes may not sound like long. But in this time, you could actually fly from Birmingham to Dublin, or get the channel tunnel to Calais. With only 24 hours in a day, and the average person sleeping for just over eight of those hours (or more if you are lucky enough to get a lie-in!), 50 minutes is approximately one-sixteenth of the average person’s waking time.

When you put it like that, 50 minutes actually sounds like quite a lot of time – and you wouldn’t want to put this to waste! So when Facebook announced their first quarter results, we were interested – but not surprised – to hear this is the average amount of time users spend each day on its social media platforms.

Roughly, in the UK alone, more than 38 million active social media accounts exist, with this number continuing to increase. Social media has ‘exploded’ and has fast become a part of our everyday life. Sharing is a deeply ingrained human instinct, and many of us like to share our latest news and life events with others. Social media is an instant way to share with others, especially with access to the internet becoming increasingly easy all over the world (even in the thick of the Mekong Delta we’ve found Wi-fi!). That’s not to say that social media hasn’t received its fair share of criticism, and has been linked to depression, internet addiction and to breaking up relationships.

With the world of social media rapidly evolving, and users spending an increasing amount of time online, it gives Facebook and others the chance to learn even more about its users (it’s quite scary how much they actually already know). For those businesses and organisations wanting to reach new audiences or potential and existing customers, it shows the ever-increasing need to be savvy about the way in which social media is utilised as a marketing tool.

Social media platforms are always learning more about their user’s habits and interests, and how to better target their ads. So don’t be surprised when those new shoes you’ve been eyeing up online appear on your newsfeed!